, Columnist
How Foreigners Helped Cool Australian Housing
They were blamed for driving up prices; in fact, they’ve served to take the heat out of the market.
Foreign investors sparked a wave of home-building.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
There’s a familiar refrain in Australia when public discussion turns to the country’s eye-wateringly expensive housing market: Foreigners are to blame.
Public figures from former Prime Minister Tony Abbott to populist entrepreneur Dick Smith to far-right Senator Fraser Anning all agree that immigration is a key reason why the country’s homes are some of the world’s priciest.